Or, the nutty professor returns to his classroom next week on a mission. 2011 as the year of Pete Corridan is grounded in a simple premise: college kids–especially but far from exclusively those at ‘historically Catholic’ institutions–are often handed such texts as Dorothy Day, ‘The Long Loneliness,’ Thomas Merton’s doorstop ‘Seven Storey Mountain,’ Flannery O’Connor’s short stories, and other ‘canonical’ works; i.e. those ascribed perennially enduring and even classic stature.

Ms. Day, for one, is also the subject of a formal campaign for canonization as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, over the objections of most of her family and followers. We don’t tread on the politics of sainthood here on the Irish Waterfront, other than to guarantee that our Pete Corridan will never…ok? BUT, the great movie he inspired and helped mightily bring to fruition merits canonical status alongside those immortal works cited above. That is our storytelling preoccupation.

While driving with Dr. Chew and Charlie toward Jersey City for takeout summer rolls earlier this evening, I thought of adding Walker Percy’s ‘The Moviegoer’ to the list, mainly in tribute to cousin Bobby, an ardent fan and most gifted writer himself. No sooner were we cruising back via the NJ Tpke extension bridge over Newark Bay, we spotted, on this beautifully clear night, a billboard awash—trust me–in gorgeous digital techno-color, heralding Bobby’s new show.

Unfortunately the hi-tech images rotate continually, touting one Fox show after another, so by the time we drew near enough to capture Bobby’s…meanwhile Charlie was pining and calling for adjacent Newark Airport which has been much on his mind ever since gong gong and popo returned from there to California not long ago. On this night though it was Bobby he ardently sought as we soon rounded the terminals, wholly understandably, and logically since Charlie knows Bobby too wings from far away in another part of California.

If there remained any doubt we are indeed a tight team of three, a unit given to collective and individual ‘perseveration’ as they say in Charlie’s school world; doubt laid itself to rest tonight. ‘Perseverance’ works just as well for us, as for cousin Bobby too: below find not the billboard image but signifying equivalent. This one’s destined for canonical status; you read it here first.

On the Irish Waterfront: The Crusader, the Movie, and the Soul of the Port of New York by James T. Fisher (Cornell University Press)
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